Chapter 15 - Stepping Down
The syndicate was changing, and Vincent knew his time as its ruler was coming to an end. The streets were getting louder, the new generation more reckless and lacking the strict code of honor he had always enforced. He had no desire to die in a turf war, nor did he want to spend his twilight years looking over his shoulder.
He called his top lieutenants to the back room of Il Sogno. The very room where a bleeding seven-year-old girl had once interrupted his dinner.
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"I am stepping back," Vincent announced. The room fell into a stunned silence. "Sal, you will take the daily operations. But the legitimate businesses—the real estate, the docks, the clinics—remain mine. Anyone who tries to blur the lines between the two will answer to me. We are transitioning, gentlemen. The old way of doing things is over."
It was a dangerous move, but Vincent’s reputation was absolute. He walked out of the restaurant that night breathing the crisp city air, feeling a profound sense of relief.
